US5809022A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for converting synchronous narrowband signals into broadband asynchronous transfer mode signals
Assignee: Alcatel Lucent SAS
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Filing: 1996-03-19
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Granted: 1998-09-15
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Expires: 2016-03-19
Abstract
Abstract To provide a monolithic ATM transport the synchronous to asynchronous converter (SAC) of the invention converts the synchronous narrowband signals to composite cell ATM format. These cells can be combined with ATM video and data signals and can be delivered as an ensemble of ATM cells over either a standard SONET transport format or analog network to the customer premise. To convert the synchronous signals, the SAC provides format conversion needed to provide voice and other narrowband signals over ATM. The SAC also functions to agilely move between cell sizes such that the 48 bytes of the cell payload can be mapped to carry anywhere between the single and 48 connections. Thus, the SAC adjusts the cell configuration to balance performance and bandwidth use in a real-time manner.
Inventors
- 👤 Charles Calvin Byers
- 👤 James Philip Runyon
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 01:13
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L49/00; H04L49/10; H04L49/104; H04L49/105; H04L49/107; H04L12/00; H04L12/64; H04L12/6418; H04L49/30; H04L49/3081; H04Q; H04Q11/00; H04Q11/04; H04Q11/0428; H04Q11/0478; H04J; H04J2203/00; H04J2203/0001; H04J2203/0003; H04J2203/0012; H04J2203/0028; H04J2203/0039; H04J2203/0041; H04J2203/0051; H04L12/54; H04L12/56; H04L12/5601; H04L2012/5603; H04L2012/5609; H04L2012/561; H04L2012/5638; H04L2012/5646; H04L2012/5652; H04L2012/5653; H04L2012/5663; H04L2012/5672; H04L2012/6424; H04L2012/6427; H04L2012/6429; H04L2012/6443; H04L2012/6475; H04L2012/6481; H04L2012/6491
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
181 words
An apparatus for generating asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) cells comprising: means for receiving and synchronous time slots over a plurality of signal carriers from a number of connections; means for framing said synchronous time slots relative to a system clock; means for ordering said synchronous time slots; means for creating ATM cells from said ordered synchronous time slots, including means for mapping the synchronous time slots into an ATM cell payload, said payload consisting of a plurality of bytes and applying an ATM header to each payload, said means for mapping being responsive to the number of connections where the number of bytes per connection is variable; further comprising: means responsive to the detection of an additional call, testing whether a channel is available in an ATM cell payload of an existing ATM virtual circuit having an ATM destination common to an ATM destination for said additional call, and means responsive to a result of said testing, indicating no channel available, for increasing a number of channels carried by one of said existing ATM virtual circuits to accommodate the additional call.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
181 words
An apparatus for generating asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) cells comprising: means for receiving and synchronous time slots over a plurality of signal carriers from a number of connections; means for framing said synchronous time slots relative to a system clock; means for ordering said synchronous time slots; means for creating ATM cells from said ordered synchronous time slots, including means for mapping the synchronous time slots into an ATM cell payload, said payload consisting of a plurality of bytes and applying an ATM header to each payload, said means for mapping being responsive to the number of connections where the number of bytes per connection is variable; further comprising: means responsive to the detection of an additional call, testing whether a channel is available in an ATM cell payload of an existing ATM virtual circuit having an ATM destination common to an ATM destination for said additional call, and means responsive to a result of said testing, indicating no channel available, for increasing a number of channels carried by one of said existing ATM virtual circuits to accommodate the additional call.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
33 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the means for mapping the synchronous time slots includes a payload table for defining the cell configuration and means for changing the contents of the payload table.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the means for changing the contents of the payload table includes means for determining the number of required connections.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the means for determining the number of required connections includes means for determining requests for connections and disconnections.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 2, further including a processor for changing the contents of the payload table.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
176 words
A method of generating Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) cells comprising the steps of: receiving synchronous time slots over a plurality of signal carriers from a number of connections; framing said synchronous time slots; ordering said synchronous time slots; creating ATM cells from said ordered synchronous time slots including means for mapping the synchronous time slots into an ATM cell payload having a plurality of bytes and applying an ATM header to each payload, said mapping being responsive to the number of required connections where each of the required connections uses a payload stream and where the number of bytes per connection is variable; further comprising the steps of: responsive to the detection of an additional call, testing whether a channel is available in an ATM cell payload of an existing ATM virtual circuit having an ATM destination common to an ATM destination for said additional call: and if a result of said testing indicates no channel available, increasing a number of channels carried by one of said existing ATM virtual circuits to accommodate the additional call.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
176 words
A method of generating Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) cells comprising the steps of: receiving synchronous time slots over a plurality of signal carriers from a number of connections; framing said synchronous time slots; ordering said synchronous time slots; creating ATM cells from said ordered synchronous time slots including means for mapping the synchronous time slots into an ATM cell payload having a plurality of bytes and applying an ATM header to each payload, said mapping being responsive to the number of required connections where each of the required connections uses a payload stream and where the number of bytes per connection is variable; further comprising the steps of: responsive to the detection of an additional call, testing whether a channel is available in an ATM cell payload of an existing ATM virtual circuit having an ATM destination common to an ATM destination for said additional call: and if a result of said testing indicates no channel available, increasing a number of channels carried by one of said existing ATM virtual circuits to accommodate the additional call.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 6, further including the step of buffering j samples from said signal carriers where j is the number of samples per connection in one of said ATM cells.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 6, further including the step of combining the contents of k buffers in said ATM cell payload where k is the number of connections in one of said ATM cells in response to said means for mapping.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 8, further including the step of transmitting said ATM cells to an ATM backplane.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 6, further including the step of detecting requests for connections and in response to the detection of a request for connection, determining if there is an unused payload stream in an existing ATM cell.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 10, further including the step of updating the means for mapping in response to the step of determining if there is an unused payload stream.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 10, further including the step of allocating more bandwidth if said step of determining if there is an unused payload stream determines that there is no unused payload stream.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 6, further including the step of detecting requests for disconnections and in response to the detection of a request for disconnection, determining if the bandwidth of an existing stream can be reduced.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 13, further including the step of allocating less bandwidth in response to the step of determining if the bandwidth of an existing stream can be reduced.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 6, further including the step of determining if the number of payload streams should be increased or decreased.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
176 words
An apparatus for generating asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) cells comprising: an interface receiving synchronous time slots over a plurality of transmission numbers; at least one framer for framing said synchronous time slots relative to a system clock; a time slot interchanger ordering said synchronous time slots; an ATM adaption layer for creating ATM cells from said ordered synchronous time slots including means for mapping the synchronous time slots into an ATM cell payload and applying an ATM header to each payload, said means for mapping being responsive to the number of required connections where the number of bytes per connection is variable; further comprising: means responsive to the detection of an additional call, testing whether a channel is available in an ATM cell payload of an existing ATM virtual circuit having an ATM destination common to an ATM destination for said additional call; and means responsive to a result of said testing, indicating no channel available, for increasing a number of channels carried by one of said existing ATM virtual circuits to accommodate the additional call.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
176 words
An apparatus for generating asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) cells comprising: an interface receiving synchronous time slots over a plurality of transmission numbers; at least one framer for framing said synchronous time slots relative to a system clock; a time slot interchanger ordering said synchronous time slots; an ATM adaption layer for creating ATM cells from said ordered synchronous time slots including means for mapping the synchronous time slots into an ATM cell payload and applying an ATM header to each payload, said means for mapping being responsive to the number of required connections where the number of bytes per connection is variable; further comprising: means responsive to the detection of an additional call, testing whether a channel is available in an ATM cell payload of an existing ATM virtual circuit having an ATM destination common to an ATM destination for said additional call; and means responsive to a result of said testing, indicating no channel available, for increasing a number of channels carried by one of said existing ATM virtual circuits to accommodate the additional call.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
33 words
The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the means for mapping the synchronous time slots includes a payload table for defining the cell configuration and means for changing the contents of the payload table.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the means for changing the contents of the payload table includes means for determining the number of required connections.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the means for determining the number of required connections includes means for determining requests for connections and disconnections.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 17, further including a processor for changing the contents of the payload table.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-09-14 | 2002-03-16 | 2002-09-15 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-09-14 | 2006-03-16 | 2006-09-15 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-09-14 | 2010-03-16 | 2010-09-15 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |